Steve Cooper has enjoyed a bright start to his role at Leicester City. The Foxes have won both of their opening pre-season fixtures and look to make it three from three on Friday evening as they face Italian Serie B side Palermo at the SMH Group Stadium in Chesterfield.
Leicester outed their new black away kit on Tuesday evening as they beat Shrewsbury Town 2-1, in a game that saw Stephy Mavididi pick up his second goal under the reign of Steve Cooper.
Team News
Cooper is already making statement moves with his line-ups in the hope he can find a consistent starting 11 come August 19th, where the Foxes welcome Premier League big-hitters Tottenham, who are hoping to go one better than last season and achieve Champions League football for the first time under Ange Postecoglou.
Last season during Leicester's successful Championship campaign, high-flying wingers Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi were pivotal. In Tuesday evening's fixture, we learnt that the pair have the versatility to match their skill, as Fatawu played as a left wing back and Mavididi as an attacking midfielder.
This may create space for a new attacking outlet for the boys in blue. In the past few days, Leicester have been linked with Arsenal wide man, Reiss Nelson with a loan deal on the cards, who could add hunger to the side, as well as Premier League experience, which Leicester may lack in some areas.
Palermo have made an average start to their pre-season campaign, falling short in their first outing, losing 1-0 against Swiss side Rapperswill-Jona, however, the Pink and Blacks responded superbly to that defeat on Saturday, as they defeated fellow Italian’s Monza, with the goal coming from Federico Di Francesco.
Manager, Alessio Dionisi, would have been delighted with the result despite it being a friendly. Palermo is a club with big ambition, and believe Serie A is their level, so to compete with and beat Serie A competition will fill the squad with lots of confidence heading into the new season.
Player to watch- Matteo Brunori
Brunori has enjoyed two brilliant seasons in Serie B, chipping in with 20+ goal contributions in consecutive years, making him the attacking talisman of the pink and blacks as well as the team captain.
He joined Palermo on loan in 2020, and after a successful spell made the permanent move from Juventus in 2022 for a fee of just under two million euros.
The Striker provides pace, power and an eye for goal, so will be a big but needed test for the foxes' defence, who are preparing for a tricky premier league campaign filled with strikers like Brunori.
Likely lineups
Leicester City possible starting line-up:
Ward; Pereira, Okoli, Souttar, Justin; Winks, Ndidi; Fatawu, McAteer, Mavididi; Daka.
Palermo possible starting line-up:
Gomis; Jensen, Gomes, Lucioni; Diakite, Sarics, Ranocchia, Buttaro; Insigne, Di Francesco, Brunori.
Our prediction: Leicester 2-1 Palermo
With it being a pre-season match, a prediction will be very hard to tell due to the constant switches of the teams to have a look at different players, however, we do believe that the Foxes will have to much quality in the attacking areas of the pitch for Palermo to deal with.
On the other hand, the threat of Brunori and Di Francesco will be a stern test for the new defence of Okoli and Souttar and could potentially cause Leicester a few problems throughout the match.
Overall, we think it will be a tightly contested match, but the quality of the Foxes should be enough to get past the Pink and Blacks and get a positive result.
Match Details
Leicester will take on Palermo in a 7:45pm kick off on Friday evening in Chesterfield with fans able to watch live on Leicester City's own Foxes Hub for a fee of £10.
